1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a fuze for a submunition loaded with a solid pyrotechnic chemical main charge which, when burned, produces an incapacitating gas and, more particularly, to the reliable delivery of the gas to, and the saturation of, a restricted area at far range from the launch point of a projectile in which the submunition is contained.
2. Description of Related Art
In many applications, e.g. tear gas for riot control or chemical warfare, it is desirable to deny access of a certain area to unauthorized persons or enemy forces. For this purpose, an incapacitating gas is used to saturate the restricted area. It has been proposed to load a solid pyrotechnic chemical main charge in each of a plurality of submunitions, all of which are loaded in a launch projectile, for example, a 155 mm projectile fired from a gun or howitzer. The projectile is typically launched at a far range from the restricted area, primarily to protect launch personnel from the incapacitating effects of the gas which might occur if there is a firing malfunction or if prevailing winds blow the gas back to the launch site.
It has been proposed to use ground-impact-type fuzes to detonate explosive primers which, in turn, burn the chemical main charge, thereby initiating a chemical reaction that produces the incapacitating gas. However, such ground-impact type fuzes do not disperse the incapacitating gas as well as an above-ground release. Also, the existing ground-impact-type fuzes are expensive to produce and somewhat bulky. Ground impact fuzes will misfire if they land on a soft target area, thereby subjecting friendly forces to armed, dud-fired, chemical munitions when the target area is re-taken.